Rural Electrification Now and Then: Comparing Contemporary Challenges in Developing Countries to the USA's Experience in Retrospect

Abstract

Despite its widely recognized importance, electricity is not yet available everywhere, and there are many areas of the globe which still depend on alternative sources of energy such as wood, charcoal and kerosene. In contrast, the USA was the first country to be fully electrified. This article explores the current challenges faced by developing countries, presents the historical evidence from the USA and compares these experiences discussing the policy relevance of the comparison. Far from being a smooth process, the electrification process in the USA was a long and complex transition. The article analyses the challenges and policy responses that characterized the US electrification process. One of the outstanding features of these policies is that they are quite comprehensive and include subsidies and credit schemes, house ownership policies, mass media campaigns, the provision of adequate repair service and the direct involvement of women.

Keywords:

• rural electrification
• developing countries
• US electrification
• challenges

JEL Classifications:

• I38
• L94
• N42
• N70
• O13

Notes

¹See http://www.minbuza.nl/en/Key_Topics/Development_Cooperation.

²The four African countries are Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Senegal and Rwanda. These countries from the Sub-Saharan region are diverse – in terms of income and electrification rates – but none have completed the electrification process. Indonesia is the Asian country and it is included because its economy has shown a robust growth trajectory (and its income per capita is much higher than that of the African countries), but it has not completed the electrification process yet.

³From the website http://www.fres.nl/nl/home.html (accessed on July, 2012).

⁴The single-phase distribution system refers to the distribution of electric power using a system in which all the voltages of the supply vary in unison. Single-phase distribution is used when electricity is mostly used for lighting and heating purposes, with very few large electric motors.

⁵See, for example, the impressive REA artwork at http://www.smecc.org/rea_posters___artwork.htm (last accessed in July, 2012).

⁶From Schedule of Instruction – Rural Electrification Short Course, March 3-15, 1952, at C.V.T.S, Saskatoon, in UA: Directors'/Deans' Office Collection, Extension Division: #2106, XXX, K.1.i, Rural Electrification – 1950–1957.